This is my first time in a long time writing for an audience that isn't people I already know and I'm both nervous and excited about it. Mostly excited, I think. Ask me again when I have to put together my August post.

I slept most of the day (I think I had a mild vaccine reaction). Abbie gave this gentle, polite woof of a bark to wake me up at precisely 4:30 pm, meaning, it's time to go to the dog park. She is good at telling time.

"Got a revolution behind my eyes""Stand Up and Organize"Comparison to SG vid to same song. Fits great with Star Wars. Whatever happened you keep fighting.Surrender to a higher cause / the force. Song choicePowerful excitementGreat first vid to to PremieresHave to set aside the personal in all these moviesMoved well between eras, they were treated the same. Cohesive.

Monsters of the Cosmos by CherryIce (Thor)

Beautifully editedCherry = Jane (knows science)Gives Jane more of a character by leaning into her as a scientistKnows MCU, has a view of this corner of MCU -- deep dive -- unique perspective. Loves Jane as a character, Jane learning - becoming part of it. Black holes are terrifying. Jane = black hole.Thor science is ridiculous, so good match for song (which fetishizes science).

I Took a Pill in Ibiza by beerbad (Wynonna Earp)

Hard to be her"I know a sad song"Great musicality for movement. Lyrics in opposition, not sure if ironic intent.Wynona - PTSD, not "trying to look cool" as said in songAccessible to someone who doesn't know the show, couldn't hear the lyrics so not bothered by mismatch. Contrast to other vid for the show.Amazing recruiter vid.

Spell by hollywoodgrrl (Carol)

Jarrow has no chill. Spiral motion, smoke of cigarette.Gloves as a metaphorSmoke clouds thoughtsVidder made it look different / new with zooms & closeupsEli likes the sexAwesome imagery and metaphors. Pulled in, under their spell.Anoel also has zero chillThe magjc of when they're together. In betwen, they aren't as connected. Finally get their happy ending.Rare use of audio done perfectly, vidders take note.Saying it with such reverence.Great POV shift.

Blood on Blood by feedingonwind (Hannibal)

This vid is about A, could follow her journey.Visual parallels with Will, repeated imagery is strongEvery Hannibal vid feels like it is about a different show, this vid had a different feelCan't go there in general for Hannibal but this one grabbed her and kept her watching*Will* has to keep watching her die over and overVid caught her before she could close her eyes

Is It Safe Now? by Kitty aka Winterevanesce (Eyewitness)

Double meaning. Learning how to be safe with each other.Not sure if murderer knows that they saw himSurprising to see guns after la, la, very gay.Thanks for telling me how show ended (gave up after a few episodes)Effective at getting her interestedClear story telling told all. Filters to create closeness, intimacy.Very sexy. Appreciated!Gorgeous. Beautiful colors. Enjoyed transitions / zooms.Really complete story. Is it a movie?Good job with story.

Haunting by Rhea314 (Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu)

Context would have been helpful (hadn't seen anime)It is S1 and S2 of dame source, despite variation in titlesHand imagery throughout, push-pullMeeting halfway, pulling away, meeting againGood job of jumping through time, helped by snapshots from different periodsPulled along in the current of back and forthPinky fingers connected, repeated with only one hand, and empty hand w/o match (loneliness)candle imagerysong choice helped to explain a lot of context

Birdie by Lola (Mad Men)

BUILD (Yes!)SHIFT in tone after the shotgun(murder spree?)(I was reminded of a recent line from Orphan Black. Who hurt you? ALL OF THEM)Metaphor of birds, nickname is BirdieTrying to fly freeSick of playing houseUse of stillness. Violence feels amped up because of the contrast.Scary. Emotions under the surface.Betty is trapped. First time really saw her, saw the effect of HOW trapped, sympathy.Most fantastic revenge of the Hitchcock heroines.Loved Betty, love the feeling of tension, claustrophobia, pressure, everything.Tension never really resolves, leaves you still feeling it.Never let you rest, never gave you peace.And *that's* why valium was known as mother's little helper.

Wild by tbm (Xena)

Super gay.Callisto is super pissed!Looks great on big screen.Callisto is literally gay for Xena.Oh yeah, that was really frickin' gay.Song choice!Good use of Callisto's madness.Callisto's arc is all over the place.Early 90s effects FTW, nostalgia.FPreg crazinessTarot imagery, AU image of Callisto

HandClap by elipie & kuwdora. Power Rangers (2017)

Pimp vid. Made our hands clap.

She Keeps Me by kiki_miserychic (Inside Out)

Cheerful one / Grumpy one ship vid.Song choice A+A lot of feelingsVid makes her super happy. Intertwinedness, how much they need each other.Someone has a friend who cosplays these characters together.1st time no sobbing. Very sweet vid.

Clean Light by skygiants (Steven Universe)

made for the source, wouldn't be surprised if it showed up in the show.pure joy.focused on warmth of family and friendship.architecture - background --> expansiveness & joy.mini character arcsremarkably cohesive for so short.each time the same lyrics felt different.did a lot with a large ensemble cast.super cute.

Stray Italian Greyhound by Butterfly (Yuri!!! on Ice)

GoosebumpsSuper cute. Awesome.Many vids are cute but "baby's 1st vid." This one is cute and sweet but a much more thoughtful take on the Relationship.Not sure I wanted this, but oh shit I've fallen in love with this person.Great song choice -- did some heavy lifting.Punch to feels, still sense of anxiety that gets resolved at the end.Assumption that Victor would be the stray italian greyhound but not the first time! Layers.Loved editing. Huge kudos. Doesn't usually like boyslash.Yuri claiming desire, sex, gold, being a great skater.Tentative approach: can I admit to myself that I want it.Repetitive. Coming together/away relates to Yuri's anxiety.

White Flag by Trelkez (Timeless)

Not!Dido songFamily feelshand-holdingget up & get movingpimp vid. already OT3-ing itConnectionConfidence and strength in each otherVid didn't forget that the black man going back in time would have different experienceMost effective recruiter vid of the night. I am so here for all of these people. Teamwork and resistance to power (topical!)Very big vid, featured multiple characters

Stunning vidshow curation, placing it after Incredible ThoughtsOur love of formulaic thingsWe see that they are formulaic but love them anyway (because of it)Guitar riff = swoopyEntire song/vid as metaphorTITLE CARD helped clue audienceSickest JJ Abrams burn since AO3 fic jerking off to lens flaresComment on vidders range (Lateralis) (But also Castiel vid!) Vidders are smartThe movies don't feel like Star Trek, but they are fun. Can enjoy and still critique.

She Said by here's luck (Supergirl)

I miss S1. Hard same!Nicely balanced aspects of life w/o getting bogged down in romance -- she is moreEmpoweredExpected chorus to be all Supergirl but it was also Kara. Kick-ass as Kara as well, both aspects of her life are awesome.Optimism, awesome women.Great thematically for this year.Moment that hit hard: stronger than Superman showing message of Clark supporting her, gives her confidenceGreat use of literalism but vid didn't rely on it. Icing on top of a great vid.Focused on women: sister, boss, presidentKara brings with her awesome woman power into the world.

Wake Me Up Before You Go by sisabet (New Girl)

Vid caught me up on what I missedHe tries super hardThe jar. He's always going to be *exactly* this terrible, but still worth loving.Eli kept hearing "douche jar" in the song.Effective at bringing me into a fandom I'm not in. Sold them as a couple, the charms of the show.

Overture to Folly by Franzeska (Rivers of London)

Jarrow is not sure if he's supposed to read the text bubbles or not. Got more from the vid by blocking them out. Eli found it harder to read them as they sped up.B. wanted more internal movement, cue where the eye is supposed to go (if not to comics).In MMVs (manga music videos) they block out the speech bubbles unless they are needed. J. liked the song choice - instrumental - liked the feel of it.Y. - Still source but vid still felt like it had motion and flow.

Everything Stops For Tea by Valoise (Multi)

This person has strong feelings about Tea Fandom.Stabbing each other -- oh, let's stop for tea.Withnail and I clip.Brits will love it."I am possibly in Tea Fandom!"Simple but vital. Now my life is more fulfilled!Jarrow: You're going to watch this every day at 4pm!Everything stop for tea, always.Noted that vid was placed at "tea time" in the vidshow.

These Days Are Dark (But We Won't Fall) by bessyboo and queelez (US Politics)

Need a break from politics but important to see hope.Long but it took a long time to get through history of all the protests. It took time -- that's part of the point.Well made but not ready to laugh about Voldemort parallels.Made her cry. Vid had to begin There but it made her nauseous."It ripped me apart. Thank you."Appreciated the energetic quality. Neither "everything is terrible!" not self-congratulatory but "You can do it, so go do it!"Ending with fans felt personal, hand held, people we know are out doing stuff.Learning from actual history but (dyo??) the stories we *tell* each other(Punched in the feels and I hate you but I love it -- could be for next vid)

Bad Blood (Never Ever) by fiercynn and scribe (Multi)

They make great multi vidsPeople who love each other punching each otherWicked! broadwaySuch angst!You suck, and we're done! Finality. N_E_V_E_R getting back together.The song itself was fighting each other, mash-up worked well. 90% queer, inverse of "usual"

Shape of You by Butterfly (Multi)

This is So. Gay.I like the sex (again)Diversity! Femslash!Making its point and keeping you there. (despite some source issues)A lot of nostalgia for queer movies that haven't seen a lot of recently (Velvet Goldmine)It was a recruiter vid for the gay.

Wolves Without Teeth by Dar (Sense8)

Blew me away!Taken in by group shots and sense of togetherness and them all working together.So protective of each other.I care so much!Not a traditional recruiter vid but good representation of experience watching the show.Condensed beautiful emotional. Not very plot driven.Encapsulates experience of the show.Hit me in the feels with no source knowledge. SO beautifully edited.Song choice!Never before understood what the show was about or why people love it so much.Good job balancing the different relationships / pairings.Ensemble vids can be hard, tech of equal airtime. Vidder skills deftly done.Wolfgang feels hit hard - bittersweet.Show choreography of the 8 - vid elevates it. Modern dance.

Gold Dust Woman by AurumCalendula (Xena)

The show is So Gay, not just Xena & Gabrielle.50 Shades of Gold.This one had more modern effects, made the show feel current and not so 90s.Effective use of lyrics - silver spoon, put your kingdom up for saleWhat do you do with this extra layer of orientalism? Do you just make the vid? Can't change the source (See Xena panel)

Farewell Ride by Destina (Tombstone)

Songchoice totally fit. Can tell vidder cares about source.Movie tried to make these actors look the same (thank god I'm not face blind)So happy because I love the movie -> most magnetic Val Kilmer has ever been even sweaty and dying of consumption)Why "I'm your huckleberry?"Key line Val Kilmer says when he's going to kill someone. Very gay.It's more gay, that's what I needed to know.

When Sorrows Encompass Me 'Round by AurumCalendula (Wynonna Earp)

Almost made me care about Willa"What a hard life, I wish she sucked less"Synchronicity. Earp follow Earp in vidshow order.Sold on fandom now.I care about her now! Got really drawn into this character.Resident Willa apologist claims she's the best!Not the main character and her story is obscured both TV and her life. Vid took us into *her* perspective on things.

Desire by Kitty aka Winterevanesce (Heartless)

Taken on a JOURNEY y'allKinda rapey, then she SET him on FIRE. She lit him on fire with her MOUTH.Emotionally exhausted by the end. On journey with you.Great song choice.This isn't what I remember Lost Girl looking like!Avril Lavigne ... starred in Lost Girl?

Winter by scribe (Killjoys)

(I talked about this in vid review and apparently didn't take any notes. Sorry! Loved it!)

Overcome by sweetestdrain (Rogue One)

New Hope shots - visually completing the journey. Deeply satisfying. Sacrifice has weight, meaning, purpose that will be fulfilled (especially following on the Killjoys vid)

Carry That Weight by Anoel (Star Wars vids)

Build super strong, a lot of feelingsWinter -> Overcome -> Weight. Arc of vids. Had to start dark.Hopeful chills.Can be jarring but transition to RL footage done very smoothly.*Carrie* that weightExpectation of Beatles but this cover choice perfect for the vidReal World iconsHan killed - crossfade into Lea's heart

I had a really great time this year, like every year. It was super chill and I hung out with lots of cool people.

I drove out to Chicago on Thursday and hung out in the lobby for a bit, then popped down to the grocery store and got stuck for a while in the rain. It was a great chance to catch up with rhoboat, so I didn't mind at all. Went with hollywoodgrrl, ohvienna, and anoel to a cool tiki bar, Lost Lake. They were opening late that day so we killed some time poking around a cool record store and then a comics store. We headed back to the tiki bar and they were open. Their banana daiquiri is really good and they had "fancified" instant ramen noodles with a slice of cheese and chives and stuff on top that really hit the spot for drunk me.

We headed back to the hotel for registration and general hanging out in the consuite, which is something I don't do a whole lot of and should probably try a little more. I think elipie, shinyalice, anoel, and I ended up hanging out in hollywoodgrrl and ohvienna's room after that. elipie and I went to the end of the Mystery Vid Party and literally watched the last vid. Totally worth it and I'm looking it up at some point to watch again. Then elipie and I watched HGTV and yelled at the stupid people on House Hunters. I know it's pretend for the cameras, but I love yelling at the tv. We stayed up until about 2:30am when bradcpu and milly came in from their hellish travel experience.

Friday I got breakfast downstairs, chatted with people briefly, then went up for VJ and moderator training. The Welcome vidshow was interesting for me because I've accepted that most of the older vids simply aren't for me. I'm not interested in the fandoms and so much of what gets shown is dude-centric. Are there older VCR era vids with women at all? I think there has to be at least one somewhere in that sea of sausage. The auction vidshow was all over the place and I love that. The were certainly unique and very driven by the bidder's wishes and the vidder's style. It made for an odd vidshow overall, but I think it's cool that everything was so wildly different.

For Vividcon I go to all the panels (unless I'm the VJ for the vidshow). I have problems with sitting through vidshows and the projector does a weird rainbow thing, so I save my vidshow watching ability for watching Premieres. It was interesting to go to the Structure of a Vidshow panel and see how other people make a vidshow. I make vidshows, so it was cool to see the similiarities and differences in other people's process.

I had lunch with rhoboat in my room, which was great because she hasn't gotten to come in a couple of years and she's just so flipping nice and helpful. I was a bit nervous about my panel after lunch so I scanned my massive amounts of notes beforehand.

I think the panel went well. I over planned on purpose and then gauged the room to see which way to go to address the most amount of people who attended the panel. I didn't think that many people were going to attend the panel, so I only made 30 copies. Oops. I'll post it online along with my own panel notes soon too.

The OT3 panel was great for my future use. I attempted a sort of OT3 vid for a vidshow this year, but I structured it more like two character studies and an epilogue. I loved how different forms and structures of OT3 vids were broken down musically and planned out for three people and relationships.

I VJ-ed my vidshow, which I think went well. The jazz panel was cool too. I like listening to jazz and I've been wanting to do a Twin Peaks vid to some improvizational jazz because I think that's the kind of music that would work for my concept. I'll see how it turns out.

I got a weird text from my aunt and had to deal with some stupid family shit, but it worked out and I didn't have to leave early. My aunt just hadn't realized how much was involved with taking care of my grandpa. She told me later that she hadn't known how much I was doing until she had to do start doing it and then she panicked because it was too much. And I should have known she was going to have a hard time, but I've been taking care of him since the end of June and he's gotten so much better and easier to take care of that it didn't occur to me that she might think it was too difficult.

Saturday was, again, breakfast downstairs and chatting with whoever sat down, then Vid Review. I had lunch with Morgan Dawn, Catherine, elipie, bradcpu, and milly. It's always great to sit down and talk about vids and it's one of my favorite things I do at VVC.

In the afternoon I was in the Vidding as Therapy panel, which I enjoyed attending as well. I think therapy vidding is an excellent approach and I love hearing how people use it. I was also glad I was a part of it. I intended to use a different vid to talk about, but most of my download links are expired because I'm terrible at uploading and linking things. I was glad to talk about another vid though and went with It Follows in Five Pieces. I connected to people I didn't realize I could connect with, which wouldn't have happened if I'd talked about a different vid. I also went to the Building a Better Beta panel. I don't use a beta, but I do beta for other people. I learned cartoon history and lineage in the Learning to Feel: Cartoons panel and I got the urge to finish one of my cartoon vids for next year's club vivid. I also went to the Vidding as Poetry panel, which was also super informative and jump started some ideas.

For dinner elipie, shinyalice, rhoboat, and I went to Dunkin' Donuts, which was such a good idea because they have the perfect grilled cheese that's great for pre-drinking. I actually wanted one the next morning too when I was slightly hungover. Club Vivid was fun like usual and I had loads of fun. Even the awkward thing that happened was totally hilarious. A bunch of us hung out in the hallway talking and figuring out what to do afterward while we waiting for friends to finish cleaning up. By the time they finished some of the others were tired and going to bed, so bradcpu, milly, and I went up to the room. I didn't think I was that tired, but I heard elipie come in and I was going to say goodnight when she got in bed, but I totally fell asleep the next second. I must have been more tired than I thought.

Sunday morning I headed down to breakfast like usual and talked with some random people. Then caught up with lolachrome to iron out In Depth structure. She had a lot of travel problems and we hadn't gotten the chance to talk face to face to finalize the timing. I went to the Xena panel and loved it, of course. The Star Wars panel was good too. I had lunch with lolachrome to discuss In Depth and talk about random things. In Depth itself went well I thought. It's more about directing traffic and keeping things going if there's a lull in discussion. With voting there wasn't a lot of need for me to chime in and I didn't want to talk too much because for every minute I talk is a comment from the audience that doesn't get said, so I more or less just point out people who haven't gotten the microphone in case they didn't see them. And then thank people for their comment, lol.

The Challenge vidshow was fun as usual. I enjoyed all the femslash and female-centric vids in the second half of Instant Reply. I think hollywoodgrrl, ohvienna, shinyalice, and I requested all the gay. After that a bunch of us went to the Italian place down the road and smashed some pasta. Then hollywoodgrrl, ohvienna, shinyalice, and I watched Game of Thrones. I usually don't watch it with other people, so that was fun. We hung out a bit more and at one point I laughed so hard that I had tears streaming down my face. Good times.

Monday morning instead of hotel breakfast, elipie asked if I wanted to come to the diner down the street for breakfast, so I packed up and did that, which was nice. I'd never been down to the diner before. I hung out a bit more in the lobby before driving home. At some point on the drive I got into something I'm allergic to and had a reaction. My face got red and puffy with hives down my neck and chest. And I had to stop 7 times to pee on the way back, which is totally weird because I drove to Chicago with only 1 stop, so 7 stops is absurd considering I only had three glasses of water that morning. I went back to my grandparents so I could take my grandpa to his doctor appointment in the morning. Thankfully I took two benedryl and went to bed. When I woke up my allergic reaction was under control and I'd slept a legit good 9 hours. I'm thinking the reaction was probably from coconut at a turnpike Starbucks and it's my fault because I saw they had a coconut topped special and still ordered my usual drink despite a higher than usual possibility of there being coconut in there. I saw a super cute dog on the way home too.

I'm back from Vividcon 2017 and I had a wonderful time! I was worried earlier in the year that this VVC would be really sad but thankfully I'm in a great mental state right now where pre-con I've been feeling super happy each day and that carried into the con where I tried to enjoy every moment of the con and savor all the good memories instead of being disappointed when things didn't go my way. It really helped make the con extra awesome and I had a great time getting to connect to my friends, watch vids, talk about vids and have a lot of fun.

I tried remembering everything as best I can but if I made any mistakes, feel free to correct me!

Thank you to everyone who made my Vividcon so special! To me, Vividcon is a beautiful place where vidding is everything just like it is to me and where I can enjoy talking about vidding wherever I go as well and have amazing discussions about the craft. There is nothing that compares to watching premiering vids on the big screen in a crowd of people who *get* and *love* it and it brings an emotional high that is never replicated by watching on a smaller screen alone. I am SO happy to have Vividcon as a part of my life and this year I tried to appreciate each and every moment. I can't wait for next year and I look forward to a year filled with vidding growth as a vidder and as a community. Vividcon <3 Forever!

I watched this a few weeks back on a rec from ladyjax. It is firmly in the "natural disaster" genre, and is recommended if you like this genre. It focuses on a geologist and his family, and what happens when a mountain falls into the ocean, causing a tsunami. I liked the characters and enjoyed the slow build of tension. Content notes: people dying in various ways

The Shallows

A tense, thrilling shark movie. This film focuses on a young woman, Nancy, who is surfing at a secluded beach somewhere in Mexico. A shark attacks her and she must try to survive. It's got beautiful land/seascapes, and tight writing. I liked that there was no romance, and that Nancy is smart and brave and compassionate. content notes: blood, death, a bit of self-surgery

Keanu

A goofball comedy from the creators of Key and Peele, this story focuses on Rell (Peele) and his cousin Clarence (Key) trying to rescue a kitten from drug dealers. Rell and Cameron are nerdy guys and they pose as dangerous gangland assassins to try and infiltrate the drug dealers and get Keanu back. It's brilliant. Content note: gun violence, death, drugs